Namiko Uematsu
Appearance Namiko is a young woman appearing in her mid-twenties, ironically looking slightly older than her husband. She is of average height and build and wears a shinigami's shihakusho even after leaving the Gotei 13 due to comfort and familiarity. She does not have any tattoos or markings. In the human world she wears jeans and long-sleeved shirts, occasionally wearing sweatpants. She wears sandals all the time. Personality Namiko is very shy and quiet, preferring to stand back and let other more capable fighters defeat enemies. Even when angered she does not prefer to fight, instead simply not talking. When forced into battle she is slow and defensive, even with her Shikai activated. History Namiko was a young student in the Shino Academy, and was taken in as an apprentice by Setsuna due to her quiet nature, with Setsuna training her in various ways to defend herself to win. She remembers not wanting to fight, and questioning why he chose her as an apprentice alongside Gin Ichimaru. During a fight with Ichimaru, she did not move fast enough and was injured by Ichimaru. Setsuna quickly ended the fight and took her to a medic, and remarked that teaching her was more trouble than it was worth. She resolved to fight better, and the next day she released her zanpakuto, tiring out and defeating Gin. Setsuna revealed that he was quite taken with her despite her lower skills and offered her a chance to join his family. However, Setsuna was soon forced to leave by Yamamoto. He left without explaining himself, due to being attacked by his father. She heard that he had betrayed the clan by stealing their valuable zanjutsu techniques and resolved to defeat him if he returned, heart broken. Koga offered her a place in the Uematsu clan despite her stauts as a commoner, but did not reveal the reason Setsuna had left. Plot Setsuna's Return She was first shown instructing children alongside her soon-to-be Brother-in-law, Jushiro. When the two felt Setsuna's shikai being released she recognized her fiance's spiritual energy and left to fight him. She intercepted him and attacked him with her shikai, using its defenses to thawrt his initial attempts to pass her. He then released his zanpakuto and used his zanpakuto's power and weapon changing abilities to trip her and disrupt her shikai, leaving her defenses open. She later escaped and warned Jushiro Uematsu of Setsuna's misinterpreted intentions and stood by and watched as Setsuna fought and defeated his three brothers. She was present when Koga Uematsu revealed Setsuna's mission to kill Aizen before he had a chance to escape. When Setsuna fought Kaname Tosen, she herself fought his lieutenant, Shuhei Hisagi, and was successful with her Shikai until he released his zanpakuto. She was wounded after Hisagi used his natural speed to out manuever her own defense and wounded her legs. Setsuna escaped Tosen's bankai and took her away via flash step. After his defeat by Ichimaru and Tosen, she nursed Setsuna back to health, and he explained why he had been forced to leave without explanation. Before he woke up, Namiko had an internal discussion with the spirit of her zanpakuto, and defeated it, stating her philosophy of not fighting to win. Despite his injuries, the two were finally married, and she told him of her new power. Powers and Abilities Swordsmanship- Despite not being offensive, Namiko has mastered a style of swordsmanship that relies on using her own defensive nature to her advantage, as well as repeated attacks to trick the opponent into making errors for her to exploit. Flash Step Practitioner- She is able to use Flash Steps for transport, but cannot use them in combat due to her inexperience. Zanpakuto Raikiri (Lightning Blade) is a standard katana with a purple hilt and a silver tsuba shaped like three lightning bolts. The back sides of the blade are marked with stylized lightning running along the blade. Raikiri's spirit takes the form of a dragon made of electricity. Its inner world is a storm cloud above Soul Soceity. Since she has achieved bankai, its spirit has changed to resemble Setsuna but with hair made of lightning. Shikai: Release Command "Flash and Roar" In shikai its blade turns blue and becomes surrounded by blue electricity. Shikai Special Ability: The lightning of her sword allows it to cut better and also shield Namiko herself from harm. This defense is persistant, but if her blade touches the ground it loses it charge over a period of time while it is still touching the ground. She can call out its release phrase again to recharge it. Also anything cut by Raikiri becomes numb. This can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on its use. Bankai: Chidori Raikiri (One-thousand birds lightning blade)- Namiko plants her zanpakuto into the ground and bolt of lightning shoots into the sky and forms a storm cloud which attacks all nearby opponents with powerful lightning. This lightning is strong enough to demolish buildings. She can hold the storm in place by keeping her zanpakuto in the ground. The downside is that the storm slowly loses power over time, and Namiko herself cannot fight except by using her lightning to defend herself. When it releases it makes a noise similiar to many birds chirping, hence its name.